Shadow of Darkness
Huzzah! You made it to Chapter 10! (I made it to Chapter 10- what a shock!) I'd like to say huge thank you to all my readers!
Chapter 11:
It was dawn when the party left the Travel Agency. Gippal suppressed a sleepy yawn. And, like dead weight, Rikku was draped over his shoulder, fast asleep. How unfair was that? He glared at the back of Effram's head.
"Tell me why I have to carry her again?"
"Because I'm carrying the supplies. And she'd exhausted from last night's training. But, if it's any consolation, she should wake up and be able to walk on her own… oh, this afternoon, I'd reckon."
"Afternoon!?" he sputtered. "Are you out of your freaking mind?! It may not look like it, but she can weigh a lot after awhile!"
"If you're going to complain, let's trade then," Effram offered easily, glancing back over his shoulder.
Gippal clenched his jaw. 'Damn bastard…' "I'll be fine."
Effram smiled and walked on ahead.
By midmorning they reached the entrance to Mushroom Rock Road. The older Al Bhed had been wrong- Rikku had awoken by that time. Unfortunately, Gippal found himself still carrying her, as she claimed she was still too weak to walk. He almost decided to drop her, just to see whether or not she was faking it for the attention, but at the last minute decided otherwise. Effram kept looking at him with an amused gleam in his eyes. Gippal did not want to provide the man with any more intrusive questions about just what he thought of Rikku.
Speaking of which… Rikku sighed loudly right in his ear. Her chin was resting on his shoulder so she too could see where they were going. Her blond hair kept tickling Gippal's cheek incessantly.
"What are you sighing about?" he grunted, scrunching up his face in a futile attempt to scratch his cheek.
"Just about how dull this road is getting?"
"Well, I'm sorry they didn't hear the decree to make Mi'ihen Highroad amusing just for you."
"That's not what I meant!" she said grouchily. "This! I meant… I meant this!" She gestured at her surroundings. "Do you know how many times I've traveled this stupid road since Yuna became a summoner two years ago? Besaid to Zanarkand, always that order. And let me tell you, the scenery hasn't changed much."
"Sorry I asked," he grumbled.
Effram motioned for Gippal to set Rikku down. "We'll rest here," he said, sitting down as well. He then turned to Rikku. "I heard you talking. So, you think this plague originates in Zanarkand?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. It probably does. Everything else comes from there, it seems… It's the Dead City, isn't it?"
"Then we'll go straight there," Gippal said logically. "Once we manage to procure another airship, that is."
"I thought you said that Mikkeb told you there weren't any airships available?"
He grinned. "Not when we were in Kilika. But by the time we get to Djose, there might be."
"In two days?" she asked skeptically.
Gippal gave her a cocky look. "What can I say? Faction members work quick."
Rikku rolled her eyes.
"Do you have a suspect?" Effram asked.
She nodded, yelping when Gippal elbowed her sharply. "Ow! Meanie! Yes, Effram, we do have a suspect," she continued defiantly. "I believe that it is Maester Seymour."
"But isn't he dead?" Effram asked, arching a brow slightly.
"Exactly what I said!" Gippal said.
Rikku narrowed her eyes at him. "And I gave you a perfectly good reason why it has to be him! Death and a thousand years didn't stop Shuyin from trying to unleash Vegnagun onto Spira! So why would death and just a few years stop Seymour? I'm right! I know I am!" she insisted. "Seymour had it in for Spira from the beginning!"
"Well, you make a good point," Effram said, stroking his chin. "Hmm… why don't we check out Seymour's old hometown- Guadosalam- too? Being Guado, it's likely he has spiritual attachments to the place, whether he liked it or not."
"Ooh, that's a really good idea."
"It's settled then. Guadosalam and then Zanarkand." Effram passed around a canteen of water. "We'll set out in a few minutes. Do you think you will be able to walk, Rikku?"
Thoughtfully, she flexed her feet and wiggled them a bit. She nodded. "I should be okay. I'm sure Gippal won't object to carrying me if I have any problems, eh?" She nudged him with her elbow.
"Right. No objections at all. After all, my life is centered around servicing you, your highness."
She made a face at him. "Not funny. What have I told you about calming me things like that!?"
"I don't remember, your majesty. Ah, never you mind! Shall I fluff your pillow? Massage your feet? Feed you bite-sized biscuits with my toes?"
"How about shutting your big fat mouth?"
"Majesty?" echoed Effram.
"Yep, this is her Al Bhed Royal Pain-in-the-Ass. Or princess. Take your pick," Gippal said gleefully, accentuating the comment with a triumphant smirk.
Rikku crammed her elbow sharply into his rib. "He's just being an idiot, as usual."
"Damn!" Gippal gripped his side. "What is up with your knifelike elbows?!"
Effram laughed heartily. "Ought I call you Princess Rikku, now?" he asked teasingly.
"Not you too!" she wailed. "I thought you were on my side!"
Both men burst into peals of laughter. Rikku pouted for a minute but their laughter was infectious. A giggle escaped her lips in a loud squeak. Gippal and Effram looked at one another and laughed even harder.
Rikku had to look away in attempt to hide her own laughter, but her shoulders quaked with suppressed giggles. It took several minutes for her to finally regain her composure to say, "That wasn't funny. Come on… we have to go, anyway." She stood on shaky legs and tried to give them a stern look.
Sniggering, they stood as well. "After you, your highness," Gippal said with a grand gesture.
Rikku muttered something foul and unrepeatable in Al Bhed under her breath and walked ahead.
"We should probably stop by the Youth League Headquarters to see how they're doing," Gippal pointed out. "If any of them have the Plague, you could probably help them, right?"
Effram nodded in agreement. "You have the ability to heal probably two or three people before you start losing control of your powers. It would be good practice. What do you say?"
"What can I say?" Rikku frowned. "Are you really sure this is a good idea? Do you think I can do it?"
"I think you can. But what I think doesn't count. All that matters is whether or not you believe in yourself."
"Oh, how inspirational."
"You got that right," Gippal said with a smirk. "Perhaps you should consider a career in motivational speaking, dear Effram."
Effram cuffed his head. "Come on, let's go! We're wasting daylight."
''''
Rikku stared down at the limp form of Youth League Meyvn Nooj. His lover, ex-sphere hunter and rival to the Gullwings, hovered over him possessively.
"So, Leblanc. When did Nooj get sick?" she asked.
"Last night," the woman replied, straightening. "Nooji-wooji and I were about to- ahem- engage in private matters when he became more aggressive than usual."
Rikku turned a sickly shade of green. Oh yeah, that was nice to know… Behind her, Gippal snorted with repressed laughter. That was a boy for you- hint at sex and he'd be reduced to uncontrollable laughter. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the mental image Leblanc gave her. Nasty! She was certain she would have nightmares for at least a week.
"Anyway, Ormi and Logos were doing their job as my bodyguards." Leblanc carefully adjusted her outfit and continued. "They subdued my Nooji-wooji, but he's been this way ever since." She gave Rikku a skeptical once over. "Do you really think that you can help him?"
Rikku narrowed her eyes. "Move aside, Leblanc." She pushed the older woman out of her way. Honestly! She was going to have a good long talk with that woman one of these days.
She placed a trembling hand on Nooj's icy forehead and bit back a shriek. When she touched him, she saw the dark aura boiling around him, shrouding even his face. He had a terrible case of the Plague. The worst she'd seen yet, except perhaps in Tidus' case…
"What is it? Leblanc demanded impatiently. Her voice was shrill and thin from anxiety. "Why aren't you doing anything? Do you want my Nooji-wooji to die!?"
"Shut up, Leblanc! If you keep talking I won't be able to concentrate!" Rikku snapped, giving her a fierce look. 'Honestly, she can be such an old bat sometimes!' She turned back to Nooj, attempting to concentrate once more. 'Okay, just forget that he looks like he's been absorbed by some great black void. Forget that you've just learned this and never tried it out and just might turn his insides into jelly… Oh crap, I might end up doing that!' She gulped and closed her eyes. 'Focus Rikku. You can do it!'
She concentrated hard on the feeling of power that flowed through her veins. It was slow work at first because she kept letting herself get distracted, but she kept at it. Several minutes later, she felt she had gathered a sufficient amount of magic. Then, drawing on what Effram had taught her the night before, she guided the power through her fingertips and into Nooj's skin. As she forced the white aura through the dark fog and into him, she felt his skin growing warmer. She dared to take a peek. Before her eyes, the inky blackness surrounding Nooj was dissolving. 'I'm doing it!' Just a little bit more.
Rikku pulled her hands from Nooj's forehead and stumbled back a step or two. Her audience waited with bated breath. Nooj's finger twitched.
"Oh Nooji-wooji!' Leblanc trilled, flinging herself at him.
He groaned as she fell onto him. "Easy… easy," he croaked.
"You did it!" Effram said, giving Rikku a squeeze.
"I… I did, didn't I?"
"Well… I'm proud of you, kiddo," Gippal said gruffly, reaching out and ruffling her hair.
She managed a smile. "Can I sit now?" Clinging to Effram's arm was the only thing keeping her on her feet.
"Oh! Right." Effram scooped her up and carried her- and all her blushing glory- to a nearby couch. But she didn't have time to think on that, thank goodness. Nooj was sitting up now, using Leblanc for support as she fawned over him.
Gippal approached him. "Long time no see, Nooji-wooji," he teased. "You realize you're the first person that we know of to survive the Dark Plague. Tell me, how do you feel?" He had a pen in hand and shoved it in Nooj's face as if it was a microphone.
Nooj rolled his eyes. "Like a shoopuf chewed me up, spat me out, stomped on me, and ground me into the dirt for good measure," was his gruff reply.
"Not bad, I see."
Again, he rolled his eyes, shifting his weight. "My, Gippal. Get any more serious and you're going to turn into an old man. So… What happened?"
"That's just it. We don't know," Rikku piped in.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean what do I mean? I mean we don't know! We know about as much as you do about the Plague. You probably know more because you've had it. So, what exactly happened when you… caught it, I guess you'd say?"
He frowned thoughtfully and was quiet for a long time. "I'm not sure… I felt as though there was someone in my head. Much like when that Shuyin bastard possessed me."
"So Marin was right," Gippal murmured. "It's a type of possession."
Effram sat down across from Nooj, looking quite serious. "Go on. Tell us anything else you might remember."
"Well, there's not much to go on about. I mean, I remember all this hate and rage filling me. And a voice, telling me that Spira had to fall. And…" He looked disconcerted. "And I agreed with it."
" Spira had to fall? Nooj! This voice, did it sound like Maester Seymour?" Rikku asked eagerly.
"Rikku! Knock it off about Seymour!" Gippal shouted.
"No!" How dare he yell at her like that!
Nooj eyed them both. "Anyway, the voice didn't sound familiar, but I haven't heard Maester Seymour in over two years, considering he's had the most unfortunate condition of being dead all that time."
Rikku frowned. Maester Seymour's voice was one you'd remember forever. It was placid and smooth and all together creepy. 'Maybe Gippal was …' She twitched. 'Maybe he was…' She twitched again. Clearly, her body was going to have quite the physical reaction to admitting the possibility that Gippal was correct. She shook her head. Forget that for now. All that mattered presently was getting information out of Nooj.
"When did you first notice things were a bit odd?" Effram asked.
Nooj took his time to think about it. "I think… I believe it was after I had gone for a visit to the Den of Woe."
Rikku and Gippal exchanged grim glances. They both had terrible memories of that aptly named cavern.
"Den of Woe?" Effram looked puzzled.
"The cave where the Crimson Squad exercises utterly failed," Gippal said in a strained voice.
"Shuyin… who was the ghost, I guess you'd call him, that occupied the den below Mushroom Rock for a thousand years or more," Nooj explained when it appeared Effram still didn't understand. "He possessed the members of the Crimson Squad and turned us against each other. Gippal, Praetor Baralai, our recorder Paine, and I were the only survivors."
"And he possessed Paine and me and turned us against Yunie!" Rikku added with a shiver. "He's the one who wanted to destroy Spira with that ultra-whatever weapon Vegnagun."
Effram frowned. "Maybe our answers are there. We should go check it out as soon as possible."
She stared at him like he had grown a second head. "No. No, no, no! I'm not going back there and you can't make me!"
"I don't want to go either but…" Gippal took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, Effram made a really good point. We should at least check it out…"
Rikku gaped at the two of them. "You- you're crazy. The both of you are crazy!"
The two men stood.
"Be careful, you three," Nooj warned.
"Three? Ohh, no, not three! Not three, because I am not going!" Rikku protested.
Effram and Gippal exchanged glances. "You grab her arms, I'll grab her ankles." They seized the proper appendages and carried her amidst the screaming off the chair.
"Let me go! Let go! I won't go and you can't make me!" she shrieked as they carried her towards the exit.
"Looks like they can," Leblanc mused as they disappeared out the door.
''''
Rikku stood before the entrance to the Den of Woe, knees quaking and hands clutched to her chest. Okay, she wasn't standing, she was cowering! "Can't we rethink this? Guys? I can't go in there again!" The two men had finally set her down.
"Of course you can go. I'm going," Gippal replied. "And I have worse memories of this place than you do!"
"No you don't. I tried to kill Yuna!"
"Yes I did! I saw a dozen or so people uncontrollably massacre each other!"
"What are you two bickering about?" Effram demanded. "Let's go already!"
"We shouldn't be going there!" Rikku squawked. "That place is freaky! I won't go. I won't, I won't, I won't!"
Gippal seized Rikku's arm and hauled her into the Den. "Quit your bellyaching and come on!"
There was a shriek from within- Rikku's. "But I don't wanna!" Despite what she wanted, however, in she went.
Effram shook his head with a snort and followed close behind, glancing back once. Something was odd…
………..
Oh wow! The number of reviews for Chapter 10 (So far my favorite) were incredible! Thank you all so much! I'm so flattered you like it!
anonymous reviewer: It's been right under your nose all this time! - But thank you so much for your comments. They made my day!
Black-Eyed Mistress: Thank you so much! A review for every chapter, I'm flattered you liked it so much!
PerfectStranger: laughs Yes, indeed, the Pointer Finger of Despair was too much! And! An update- not as soon as I had wanted but… I hope you continue to enjoy SOD!
Angry Girl: Thank you! I love to inspire laughs
Jen: Thank you for the incredible review! It always surprises me when a reader gets hooked from the start. Thanks for reading this far and I hope you enjoy the future chapters!
Cute-Kitty: Yes! laughs Mud blech
Rikku Swirls: Yep! Update!
Vinter: laughs Yes, Effram is strange I need to sit down and think about just how strange he will be -